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Commissary grand reopening

Sylvia Juhas, civilian, receives raffle tickets from a Luke AFB commissary employee Nov. 1 during the grand reopening celebration. Raffle prizes included a PlayStation 3, new 3-D high definition TV, new refrigerator, and many more prizes for the attendees to win.

Luke Air Force Base celebrated the grand re-opening of the commissary Nov. 1. The event featured live entertainment, special giveaways, and many other activities to keep the attendees entertained.

“The rebuilding of the commissary took about two years to complete,” Christopher Thomas, store director, said. “It was an around the clock operation and required hard work and dedication to get it done.”

Some of the new renovations are complete refrigeration, energy efficient lights, electronic displays of prices, and many more upgrades throughout the store.

Thomas hopes the new look of the commissary will appeal to everyone. “The overall goal of the changes is to take a military grocery store and giving it an off-base look,” Thomas said. “We will maintain our military history throughout the store but also have a modern day look to it.”

In addition to the renovations, electronic price tags have been added to increase accuracy and visibility.

The overall reception has been positive. He said retirees and active-duty members love the changes.

“I have received an outstanding response about the new renovations,” Thomas said. “It seems as though the Luke community loves it and I’m glad we were able to deliver the changes to them.”

The event was open to active-duty members, retirees, and military families. One of the attractions available to the attendees was a live dog show, which featured a dog handler and her dog performing many tricks for the audience. There were also raffles for prizes such as a PlayStation 3, 46-inch 3D TV, and other exclusive prizes available for the attendees.

Gerry Hunt, civilian, receives her raffle prize of a new bike from Spike Lewis, grocery manager, Nov. 1 during the celebration. The event featured live music, special giveaways, and many other activities to keep the attendees entertained and to celebrate the renovations.

“We tried to cover the demographics from our active-duty side of the house and the younger Airman, all the way up to the retirees and the different levels of retirees,” Thomas said.

Marife Labadie, customer service representative, did not expect such a huge turnout.

“It was awesome,” she said. “A lot of people showed up and it turned out to be a huge success. If you didn’t make it, you missed out on a lot of great deals and prices throughout the store. This is big for the commissary and big for the Luke community!”

The event was a success, Thomas said.

“I’m glad to see the military members come out and partake in the reopening,” he said. “This is a celebration of a long process, and we’re trying to give back and reward Luke Air Force Base for being such great customers.”

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The Thunderbolt is published by Aerotech News and Review, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with the 56th Fighter Wing, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.
Contents of the Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.

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